Life, Love & A Little Coffee

Chapter Fourteen- Craptastic

Standing at the entrance of the school felt like she was stepping toward judgement day. It was a surreal feeling considering Ada always felt at ease there. Maybe the high school experience was just too easy for her and it was time to pay the piper.

Either way, she mentally braced for the persecution of her peers as she reached for the door handle.

"Whatcha doin'?" Britt blurted right next to her ear.

Ada jumped at the surprise, causing her to fling the back of her head into Britt's nose.

"Mother fucker!" Britt covered her nose with her hands.

Ada turned beet red, a color she was awaiting to flow from between Britt's fingers. "I am so sorry, Britt. Are you okay?"

"Fuck you, I'm not okay," Britt answered with a grimace.

"Well, you shouldn't have snuck up on me. I'm sorry, but that's kind of what happens."

"I know that," Britt admitted, still half yelling at her. "That doesn't mean I can't be pissed off about it." Britt let her hands drop to her sides and tilted her head back. "Is it bleeding?"

Ada inspected Britt's nose, and there was no blood. "You're good."

Britt leveled out her head and rubbed her nose a few times.

"Oh, Mr. Bennet!"

At the sound of the disturbance, Ada looked to the side and saw someone from the newspaper walking toward the door. He had the biggest crush on Britt for the last four years, which meant he must have given up hope to tease Ada in front of her.

"Your pen is so long and your words are so-o deep," he spoke in a theatrical, not-so-sexy fashion.

"Well, you just earned yourself a tiny dick rumor," Britt said with dry tone. "Good job, Jimmy."

"Justin," he corrected, seeming to regret his mocking of Ada.

Britt just shook her head and grabbed on to Ada's arm. "Nobody cares." She pulled Ada along with her and they entered the building side by side, through the large double doors of Ada's doom.

It seemed to be the second the doors sealed behind her, all eyes were on her. Most people weren't in the halls anymore as they were in the cafeteria or wherever else people drifted off to at this time, but those who walked the hall or were at their lockers all seemed to feel her presence and it felt as if they all turned in unison to stare.

Ada doubted it was that dramatic in actual life. But hearing someone nearby singing 'Hot For Teacher' confirmed that at least one person had noticed she walked in, and the song seemed to act as a beacon for others.

She shook her head to allow her hair to fall toward her face, hanging her head down to hide. It was pointless as eyes were all on her, but it was all Ada could do, minus turn around and flee the building. So she allowed Britt to guide her as she kept her eyes on her own sneakers moving forward on the scuffed cement floor. Concentrating on the squeaking of shoes against that floor and clink of the lockers being flung open didn't quite drown out the sound of the nearby snickers, but it would have to suffice if Ada was going to preserve sanity.

It was the first time in her high school career that Ada hated having a locker next to Tom's classroom. She used to give him a neighborly wave or smile as she crossed his room in between classes. Sometimes if he was standing out by his open door watching the crowds go by, they'd have a brief conversation as she gathered her books for her next class.

But Tom wasn't there to smile or wave at. He wasn't there to wish her a good morning or tell her to have a good day.

Instead, a woman who looked like as if she was young enough to be a college student, if not a peer, stood in the room as her principal explained the situation to her.